Karakura High
by gresah
Summary: Bleach AU. Orihime- Karakura High's Princess. Beautiful, social and approachable. Ichigo Kurosaki- Terrifying, a thug an very unapproachable. Find out how the life of a ostracized and misunderstood, Ichigo becomes intertwined with the ever so popular and all around loved, Orihime.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Bleach. =)**

It was 8:30am on a beautiful, sunny Monday morning in Karakura town.

Today was their first day of class- Orihime Inoue and Ichigo Kurosaki. Well first day of Junior year that is. And both students were running late.

Orihime was rushing in the hallway trying to get to class as fast as possible. She's normally very punctual and is a remarkable student. Every year, on the first day of school, Orihime goes to visit her brother Sora's grave. She believes visiting him will bring her good luck. This year, she got caught up in the moment and lost track of time. This was very unlike her. Orihime is known as the Karakura High's Princess. She is beautiful, great body, really sweet and very smart (even though she doesnt sound like she is).

Just around the corner, bruised up Ichigo was also running in the halls. He's not usually punctual and doesn't always show up to class. Everyone in the school is afraid of him except his best friend Chad. But everyone is scared of Chad too. They get in fights together constantly and they're always scowling. Neither of the boys come off as approachable, so it's no surprise they're each others only friends. No one knows this, but Ichigo doesn't go around beating up random students or bystanders. He's late today because he had to show a group of thugs not to disrespect a little girls resting place. They knocked over her vase and didn't even apologize. He can't stand shit like that. Just cause she's dead doesnt mean shes gone!

As you can guess, Ichigo and Orihime run right into one another. Ichigo is small and well built. He is strong. Orihime on the other hand, is this petite and short girl. She ends up falling.

'Oh i'm sorry! Are you alright? Here-' Ichigo immediately apologized and offered her his hand to help her up.

She sat there dumbfounded for a moment, gawking at him. Orihime has a lot of friends and usually doesn't have any trouble interacting with people. But she could not, for the life of her, manage to talk to this guy let alone take his hand. She became so shy and awkward. She stood up quickly on her own and brushed off the incident.

'Oh no dont worry about it! I should've watched where I was going, sorry!' she said with a nervous laugh. 'I have to get to class' she turned around and sped walked away.

Utterly horrified at how awkward she was around him, she hopes she didn't have to run into him again. At least not anytime soon cause that was humiliating.

'Ahhhh he was so cute I didn't know what to say! He probably thinks i'm this weirdo now' she thought.

She opened the door to her classroom an spotted a lot of familiar faces there. Uryu was one of her good friends as well. They'd been in the same class since freshman year. He wasn't too social but she wanted to befriend him. He was really smart and amazing at sewing. He was also in archery. Keigo and Mizuiro were there as well. She wasn't really close with them but Keigo always went out of his way to talk to her. She only knew Mizuiro because he was friends with Keigo and would often drag him away.

Ichigo didn't go to class right away. He had to go to the bathroom to wash his face. He knew his teacher would let him have it especially if he got in a fight on the first day of class!

He stood there for a second dumbfounded and a bit irritate at the girls reaction. She didn't have to be so scared of him, he didn't mean to bump into her. He even tried to help her up. I guess his bad reputation and banged up face didn't help though. She might be pretty but she's probably just another popular girl that's too afraid and creeped out to look his way. He shrugged of the interaction.

He now stood outside the classroom, a bit nervous to enter.


	2. Chapter 2

**If you notice the letter "d" missing a lot in these chapters please note its because the "d" key on my keyboard isnt working right. so annoying!**

After walking into class and spotting familiar faces, Orihime notice the assigned seating chart on the board.

'Sorry I'm late Ms. Yoruichi!' she said quickly before taking her seat in the very back of the class. She notice that she didn't recognize the name of the person who was assigned to sit next to her, but they weren't there for her to figure out anyway.

She took her seat, pulled out her books and started taking notes.

It was now 9am. Ichigo was making his way to class, an hour late now. 'Shit' he thought, 'so much for not getting in trouble on the first day'. He spent half an hour in the bathroom cleaning off his clothes and face so he didn't make a bad first impression on his new teacher.

He hates being the center of attention but part of that may be because the attention he gets is always negative. They think he can't see their scared faces or hear their whispers- 'isn't that ichigo? I hear he killed some guy for looking at him the wrong way!' They went out of their way to avoid making eye contact with him. No one wanted to sit next to him. No one ever dare talk to him. He was Ichigo Kurosaki, Karakura high's biggest and scariest thug. But there he stood, about to open the door to a new classroom with a new teacher, all eyes would be on him and he wasn't comfortable with that at all.

Just as he thought, all eyes were on him once the door opened. He walked up to the front of the class to see the seating chart. 'Good morning Ms.' He thought she'd let him off easy but *WHACK* she hit him over the head with some rolled up papers.

'You must be Ichigo- the only one missing. Go take your seat in the back next to Orihime. Orihime would you stand up please' Yoruichi said very sternly. Ichigo doesn't get intimidated easily, but after meeting her, he gets the feeling he should avoid getting on her bad side.

As usual, Orihime found herself lost in her thoughts as she gazed out the window. She thought about her visit to Sora this morning, about her encounter with this mysterious student she's never met before, she was thinking about how excited she was to see her best friend Tatsuki during lunch and couldn't wait to tell her about the morning she's had!

She is snapped out of her thoughts when she hears her name brought up. Orihime turns her head back to the front of the class only to see the mystery man!

'-Orihime would you stand up please' Orihime stared at Ichigo, her legs turned to jelly as she felt her face heat up, so many butterflies in her stomach she felt like she could puke. She couldn't stand right away, she needed a moment to process.

After her little moment, she slowly stood up recalling how she ran away from him in the halls and how rude she must have come off.

He waited for this Orihime girl to stand. He started scanning the room because this girl was taking a while to get up. He noticed some movement in the corner of his eye. He looked over to see who it was.

They locked eyes, her face was beet red. He could tell she was nervous. He put on his usual scowl, swung his bag over his shoulder and made his way over. 'Hey' was all he said, out of politeness, took his seat and faced forward before she could say anything.

Ichigo isn't a bad guy, not at all. But people get so scared of him cause he doesn't take shit from anyone or let others get bullied. So many rumors spread about him and things he's never even done. Now he knows to just go along with it. No use in trying to act like a nice guy when no one gives you the time of day anyway.

Hours passed, the bell rang and it was finally time for lunch. Orihime shoved her books in her bag as quickly as possible so she could talk to Ichigo an apologize about earlier. She didn't want him to think she was rude.

Before Ichigo could finish putting his stuff away, he sensed someone next to him and felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked over to see who it was, it was Orihime.

'Hi!' she waved cutely with both hands and a nervous smile, 'My name is Orihime Inoue. We bumped into each other in the halls earlier. I wanted to say I'm really sorry if I came off as rude when I left in such a hurry. Y'see, I'm usually always on time so I got really nervous. And I also wanted to say hi to my new class partner! Since we're seated together we're gonna get paired up a lot for projects and stuff!'

Ichigo was surprised, he didn't expect her to approach him. He wasn't so sure what to think of her. He's heard _of_ her from people talking in the halls. Everyone thinks she's perfect, so is she actually as nice as they say?. Maybe she's one of those people with an inferiority complex and has to try to seem perfect all the time.

Still, she came to apologize and he genuinely appreciated that about her. She wasn't running from him, she wasn't asking to have her seat switched, she wasn't avoiding eye contact. She wasn't scared at all. And she did have a good point, they were gonna be paired up a lot together so might as well be civil.

Still scowling but more light heartedly than she expected 'It's not a problem, don't worry about it too much. My name is Ichigo Kurosaki. It's nice to meet you'

'Nice to meet you too!' she said with a big smile on her face.

She seems relieved, he thought, happy even.

'Have a great lunch! See ya soon!' she waved at him as she left the class.

He stared at the door, even after she had left. Then he came back to reality and could sense the stares. Looks like everyone saw their little interaction there. And now he heard the whispers. He tried not to let it bother him, really he did, but there were some days where it was just so frustrating. He got up and walked over to the door. Ichigo made his way over to the roof, laid down and watched the clouds go by, a much more relaxing environment if you ask him.

'Tatsukiiiiiiiii, hiiiii' Orihime excitedly waved her friend over to the table where she had been waiting.

'Hi Orihime!' Tatsuki took a seat 'hows the first day going?'

'Oh Tatsuki you wouldn't believe it! I went to see Sora today but got so caught up i didn't see the time! I had to rush over but I was still so late! I ran into this guy in the halls on the way to class, I fell right on my butt! My head was all over the place I just got up said sorry and ran away when he offered to help me up. He for sure thought i was rude!'

'Oh come on, I doubt he would after something so small'

'No really! Wanna know how I know?!'

'How?'

'He ended up being in the same class as me! He came to class later than me so Ms. Yoruichi told me to stand up so he could find his seat and he just walked over to me said 'hi' in this scary voice with the serious face! He sat down and didn't even try to say anything after that'

Tatsuki found herself very amused by this 'My my Orihime, are you upset that this guy isnt head over heels in love with you yet?' she teased.

'N-n-no! It's not like that! He was upset'

'Sure sure' Tatsuki teased again as she bit into her sandwich, Orihime in the back freaking out about her friend misunderstanding the situation.'So what's this guy's name?' asked Tatsuki as she was about to take a sip of flavored milk.

'Ichigo Kurosaki'

Milk came sprayed out of her nose when she heard the name as she burst out laughing.

'Why are you laughing? Do you know something about him?'

'Orihime where have you been? The WHOLE school knows who he is! But I actually know him personally too. We used to be in Karate together when we were kids. We were really close but grew apart in high school. We still say hi to each other and stuff when we see each other but we dont hang out like we used to.'

'Wowwww that's so cool! What a small world. How come everyone in the school knows him though?'

'Well he doesn't exactly have a good rep. People think he's some scary thug that'll kill them or something.'

'Are you serious? There's no way. He's not scary at all! I mean he looks tough and has a serious face but I wouldn't be afraid of him.'

'Well you're always nice to everyone and give everyone a chance so i'm not surprised'

'I dont know, I dont think so. Just because i'm nice to people doesn't mean I like everyone. But there's something about him that gives me a good vibe. Like he's just a really nice guy. What do you think?'

'Ohhhh Orihime, I think you're the one that's fallen in love! Hahah'

'NOOOO STOP! That's not it and you know it!' Whined the bright ride girl.

'Honestly, Ichigo isn't a bad guy at all, just be yourself around him and you'll see what i mean.'

The bell rang and Orihime made her way back to class. She looked at his seat as she made her way over to hers but noticed he wasn't there. 'Guess he went out somewhere' she thought.

She sat at her desk and stared out the window until she heard the door again, she looked over and saw him. He looked right at her and all she could do was smile at him as he made his way over.


	3. Chapter 3

Class just ended and everyone was getting ready to leave. Again, Ichigo found himself sensing someone standing over him. This time, he had an idea of who it was- Orihime. He turned his head to look at her, facial expression soft and welcoming. She was taken aback by this, she felt the butterflies returning.

'I know we just met, and under the not-so-best circumstances' she let out a nervous giggle, 'but I'm gonna say talk to some friends that I haven't seen them all summer. You're welcome to come and join us if you want. Maybe you can be friends with them too'

This triggered Ichigo. He thought she would be alright and that they might get along. He doesn't really care about people getting the wrong idea of him, he doesn't care if people dont talk to him or dont want to be friends. But he definitely didn't like to get someones pity. 'Just cause she's hot and popular, little miss perfect feels bad for me? No chance in hell' was all he could think.

Orihime could sense the change in him as soon as the words left her mouth. She wasn't sure what he was thinking but she knew it wasn't good.

'I dont need your pity. I dont need you to come over here acting so perfect. There's a reason I dont talk to anyone here and I sure as hell dont need some random girl ive just met to come here and give me some pity friendship. I dont care if you're scared but dont come at me with that fake shit. It pisses me off'

'W-what are you saying?' She started to tremble. Her heart dropped to her stomach, her legs felt weak and her throat went dry. She couldn't say anything else. Utterly shocked and hurt she just stood there as her eyes began to sting.

Ichigo simply got up and left, not looking at her or anyone else on his way out.

This altercation didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the class. Including Uryu.

'Orihime, are you alright? What happened?' he questioned the girl. He was concerned and boy was he pissed.

Uryu and Orihime became friends freshman year. As you might expect- she approached him the same way she did Ichigo. She introduced herself and made an effort to be his friend. At first he didn't want it, he tried to ignore her and tried to act like he didn't want to be close to her. But he gave in after a while. She never had any ill intentions. In the beginning, Uryu thought he was being pranked. A girl like her, talking to a guy like him? But he quickly grew to realize Orihime was a very pure hearted girl. She wanted to befriend people that didn't creep her out or make her uncomfortable. He valued her purity and innocence and he desire to find _real_ friends that she could trust.

'Oh it's nothing dont worry about it. Looks like he's he's having a bad day!' she tried to brush it off. She had this fake smile plastered across her face as she turned around to get her bag and leave. She was not in the mood to stick around any longer.

Orihime avoided eye contact with the boy, 'I have to head home now, sorry I couldn't stick around and talk. Let's catch up tomorrow okay?'

'Sure.' Uryu knew the orange haired girl was upset, but he also knew that if she wanted to talk about it, she would.

Once Orihime left, Uryu left as well, but he made a mental note to confront Ichigo once he sees him..

* * *

Ichigo was now halfway to his house. He couldn't stop thinking about what just happened. It was out of character even for him. He's never went off on some girl before, he was raised better than that, and the thought of someone talking to his sister that way pissed him off. He would kill 'em! There was a constant pang of guilt that he just couldn't shake.

This girl was so confusing to him. He can't help but be suspicious of her. He couldn't help but getting mad, he doesnt need anyone to feel bad for him. If he wanted to change peoples minds about him, he would've done it a long time ago. People always have shit to say no matter who it is and no matter what they do.

But having someone blatantly pity him was so degrading.

Still, he couldn't help but regret what he said. She was so shaken up, almost as if she were afraid.

No, that's not it. She didn't look like she was scared of me, he thought.

'WELCOME HOME ICHIIIIGOOOOOOO' filled his ears as his dad attempted to kick him in the head once he entered his house, failing in the en as ichigo dodged him.

'Dad you gotta be careful! You're gonna scare him away' Yuzu nagged at her father.

'Dinner'll be ready in about half an hour. We'll call you down when it is.' Karin nonchalantly stated.

'Sure' Ichigo said with absolutely no emotion, no change in facial expression and no eye contact. He went straight to his room.

'Great, look what you did dad. You scared him off!' he could hear Yuzu saying as he walked away.

Ichigo went straight to bed feeling completely drained and like a major dick. He turned the tv on trying to distract himself from the feeling of dread at how awkward it was gonna be to see her tomorrow morning.

That reminds him, tomorrow is the day he has to go to see _him_. More feelings of dread loomed over him.

* * *

Orihime was home and now sitting on her couch.

There is a huge misunderstanding between her and Ichigo and she is determined to solve it before things get worse.

'He's different, but i can just tell we would be really good friends. It's just hard with all these misunderstandings. I do one thing he thinks its something else, I say one thing and he takes it the wrong way completely. It's like we don't know how to talk to each other' She sighed.

I really just want him to be friends with my friends so we can all hang out! We can go to amusement parks and watch fireworks together. We can go to the mall or the movies after school. Meet up for lunch or anything really! She just wants him in her life, she senses his good spirit-energy.

It's weird, Orihime is very popular and she knows she is. But she also knows it's not all for the right reasons. Most guys have the wrong idea of her, the way they talk to her, is almost always sexual. The way they leer at her makes her uncomfortable. She senses girls that dont like her too much because they think she's an attention seeking whore. There are rumors that she sleeps with guys so they do her homework and that's why her grades are so high. They think she's a stupid airhead that manipulates guys into doing her homework for sex. It's ridiculous.

Her popularity doesn't always attract good attention, so she can sense those who won't treat her that way. Her circle of friends is incredibly small and she knows that she can trust ichigo.


	4. Chapter 4

Orihime woke up this morning with feelings of both excitement and fear. She was afraid to see Ichigo, afraid he would say something to push her out even more. She was afraid he wouldn't give her a chance to explain herself.

She was excited to see _him_ today though! She's been seeing him once a week since last school year. It was awkward at first, and really difficult. Some days are harder than others, but overall its proven to help her so much. There are times when she gets flashbacks, times when she falls into a depression filled with regret. But he helps her pull through.

Orihime has her breakfast, gets dressed in her grey school uniform which compliments each one of her curves.

She looks at the time- its 7:25am, it takes her about 20 minutes to walk to school, so she puts her shoes on and begins to make her way over.

Orihime has to see him during first period, Yoruichi is already aware of that though- Every Wednesday for first period, Orihime will be gone. Since the teacher knows, Orihime doesn't bother to check in first.

Students tend to ask her, but she tries to keep it hidden from everyone.

She likes her small circle. They are the only ones that need to know. People always try to stick their noses in her business, they always criticize her. She doesn't need any more judgement in her life. She couldn't take it.

At 8am sharp, the girl knocks on the door, waiting for a response from him before entering.

'Come innnnn' says the man in a rather cheerful tone, almost singing.

Orihime smiles as she opens the door 'Good morning Mr. Urahara! How are you today?' she asks politely.

Kisuke Urahara is the school's counselor. He has certain students he counsels due to their backgrounds. He has been seeing Orihime Inoue for a year now and has noticed major progress in her confidence. There are still a lot of things that he knows need to be addressed and worked on, but the progress up to date is substantial. She always comes in with a big smile but she has a huge weight to bare on her shoulders.

'Im fantastic Orihime, how are you this morning?'

'I'm alright, I have something to talk to you about today!' she exclaims as she takes her seat across from his desk.

His office is a bit messy but it's well lit. It's welcoming and comfortable to be there.

'Oh?' he raises his eyebrows. Their familiarity with one another makes very easy for Orihime to sit down and unload.

'Yeah! There's this guy in my class, I've never met him before school started this year. Everything I say to him, he takes it the wrong way. I dont know if im saying things wrong or what!'

'Hmmm, well that depends- what happened?' So Orihime explained the situation to Kisuke. He sat there completely still, taking in her whole story.

When she was done, all he could do was smirk. 'What's so funny?' She asks confused.

'Oh you'll see in a few minutes.' he chuckled putting his hand over his mouth to try and stop himself from laughing.

'Remember I told you we were going to make this into a 'group' counseling day, and if you need any one on one days you could come in Friday mornings?'

'Yes I remember.'

There was a silence between them. Urahara watching her waiting for her to process what he was implying. Orihime's eyes widened so much they almost fell out her head. Her mouth dropped as she said 'wait... don't tell me-'

As if on cue, the door opened and a tall boy walked in.

'Hey, Im Ichigo Kurosaki reporting for this therapy session or whatever it is.' he Looked up after closing the door to see a very smug Kisuke Urahara. Across from him sat a beautiful auburn haired girl staring at him completely frozen in shock.

The two of them locked eyes completely horrified. Ichigo couldn't move, he just stood there.

'Crappppp' Ichigo jumped out of bed after realizing he pressed snooze on his alarm one too many times. He ran to the bathroom brushed his teeth, got dressed and ran out the house.

'I'm late again! Ugh and it's gonna be so weird walking in' he thought to himself as he rushed over. 'Nothing's went right since school started.'

Before the school year ended last year, he was informed that he would begin to do a group therapy session with one of the school's guidance counselors. His name is Kisuke Urahara. He usually meets kids with more serious cases than just students acting up. They meet him for more personal and serious life issues.

Of course he immediately declined, but they didn't give him much of an option really. Because of his terrible attendance of that school year, if he did not agree to go to these sessions, he would have been forced to attend summer school.

'Hope this guy doesn't have a stick up his ass about punctuality cause this is gonna be a problem if he does.'

When he finally made it to school, 10 mins late, he had to go and inform Ms Yoruichi that he would be meeting with Mr Urahara Wednesday mornings so he was just going to drop his bag off in class.

He was dreading this moment since yesterday. He didn't want to see Orihime, at least not yet. Again he found himself standing in front of the door too nervous to open it right away. This time, he wasn't nervous of how the other students will react, he was nervous that he had to sit next to this auburn haired girl and act like things were normal between them. Hopefully he can just ignore the situation and it'll blow over on its own.

He took a deep breath, opened the door and walked in. Class was in session, Yoruichi gave him a stank face as she asked him what he was waiting for and telling him to take his seat.

'Umm.. I actually have somewhere I need to be right now, I just came to drop my bag off.'

'Oh you have somewhere else better than my classroom huh?' she had this really demonic tone to her voice, it sent chills down his back.

'I can't tell you in front of the class though'

So Yoruichi stepped out the room and he told her what the deal was. She was annoyed, but not at Ichigo. Annoyed that Kisuke was taking two students out of History class when they had their first big exam coming up in two weeks. She would need to fill Ichigo and Orihime in on the exam details after lunch and have them figure something out.

'Okay that's fine, you don't have to come to me anymore, just go straight there. But if I find out you're lying to me, you'll be dead meat. Oh and one more thing, you better not be late again!' She got all up in his face holding her signature weapon to this neck. Her rolled up papers. He swallowed so hard his adams apple bobbed up and down, followed by an exaggerated nod.

As Ichigo walked over to his seat he quickly glanced up and saw no sign of Orihime. 'That's weird, I thought she said she was always super punctual.' he thought. In his gut, he knew he felt bad about how he came off last night. 'Is she avoiding me? Did I scare her off?' he contemplated.

She doesnt give him a bad vibe and he has such a hard time controlling his temper and his mouth. He didn't mean to go off on her like that, she was probably just being genuine.

'Well good morning Ichigo. My name is Kisuke Urahara, you may call me whatever you're comfortable with. This is going to be a group counseling session. Since it's only you and Orihime though, we can call this couples counseling or pairs counseling.'

'P-p-pair counseling is better' the stuttered words fell out of her mouth without breaking eye contact.

'Okay then, pairs counseling it is! Come on Ichigo have a seat.' he motioned for the handsome orange haired boy to take his seat next to Orihime.

'Uhh- sure' he nodded awkwardly. The two finally broke their eye contact as ichigo began walking.

'Hey' he said to her when he sat down without even looking at her.

'Um- Hi' She said, she avoided eye contact by staring straight ahead.

Kisuke found this whole situation very amusing.

You two are in the same class so I'm sure you're already well acquainted.

'I wouldn't say well' Ichigo said. He didn't mean for the words to come out, they just did. Before he could say anything he noticed a look of pure annoyance on Orihime's face.

'Well whose fault is that? Certainly not mine.' She protested against his statement.

Urahara's eyebrows raised slightly, it's very rare for Orihime to catch an attitude. This is a quality she hates about herself. She thought it made he weak and a pushover.

'That's not what I meant, it's just that we met recently. And honestly if you weren't going around trying to throw some damn pity party for me, i wouldn't have said anything like that yesterday anyway.' you could hear the annoyance in his voice.

Orihime sat there flabbergasted at his claim. 'Is that what you think I was doing?'

'No, it's what I know.'

'You know, you probably feel bad for yourself a lot, thinking its unjustified that people dont give you the time of day. Maybe people wouldn't be so scared of you if you didn't jump the gun. I never pitied you.' She was pissed, scared, frustrated and sad all at once.

Orihime wasn't sure how to handle this kind of confrontation and she wasn't sure how to deal with all these feelings.

'Now now, let's settle down. You're not here to argue.' Urahara interjected.

'This is quite surprising I must say. Orihime never has problems in getting along with people.'

'Yeah I'm not surprised' Ichigo scoffs.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means that you try to damn hard to please everyone. You always try to act like little miss perfect so everyone can like you. It's okay to argue and its okay to fight back. It's fine if not every person likes you.'

Tears threatened to spill. Orihime simply stood up, grabbed her bag and walked out.

Kisuke let this go on because he thinks it's important for these two to settle their problems on their own. But he definitely didn't expect this.

The two men sat there, unsure of what to do next.

'Well looks like it'll be just me and you for the rest of this session.' Kisuke turned to Ichigo and smiled.

'Oh great.' he said sarcastically in reply. His heart dropped as the words poured out of his mouth. He saw her reaction and felt like a piece of shit. He ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a deep sigh.

'This one is gonna be a piece of work' Urahara noted.


	5. Chapter 5

'Ah shit' Ichigo leaned back in his chair, hand running through his hair.

'Well that was... Not the best' Urahara tried to come up with something to lighten the mood, but couldn't.

'Oh you think so?' Ichigo remarked sarcastically. 'How come I had to be put in this therapy session with her of all people?'

Urahara raised an eyebrow, he knew Orihime was quite popular, it was surprising to him to have someone sitting here complaining about her.

'Whats wrong with Orihime?'

'We got off on the wrong foot since we met, and every time we talk, something goes wrong. I lost my temper yesterday cause she was giving me some bullshit fake invite cause she feels bad people dont like me.'

'You think Orihime tries to play Princess and act all great so everyone can like her? Thats why you get mad?'

'Yeah, basically'

'Look, the reason you two were placed in this counseling session together is actually due to similarities in your past. Theres a lot about her that you dont know. Why dont you try giving her a shot before you go off judging her. She's not one to ever try and make friend with people she doesnt genuinely want to be friends with.'

'Oh so she just wants to be friends with the whole school then? Yeah, okay.' huffed Ichigo.

'Wrong. If you pay attention you wouldve noticed that yeah, Orihime is popular and is nice to everyone, but she doesnt actually talk to most of them. She only has a few friends. She doesnt trust too many people so when she asked you to hang out with her, it was a genuine invitation because she sees you as someone that she can actually be friends with and trust. Youre both here because youre more similar that you think so dont be so quick to write her off'

Ichigos stomach dropped 'fuck'

* * *

Orihime stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She was furious. 'How dare he sit there and say those things about me? Acting like he knows me so well.

She stormed up the stairs making her way to the roof. Her eyes still stung but she refused to let the tears spill. 'Ive let other people make me cry too many times, im not doing it anymore.' she thought, though the struggle was quite apparent.

She took seat on the roof, not many people came up here, herself included, it was against the rules. But Uryu is the student council president, she knew if she was caught he would let her off the hook.

She was fuming, but there was more to it and she knew it.

'Hes right' she sighed. 'Everything he said was right and instead of admitting it, I just got up and stormed out. I do try to act nice to everyone even people that arent, to people who say hateful things to me. It's always been like this.' the tears she tried so hard to keep in finally spilled over.

Her face was in her hands as she brought her knees up to her chest. 'Im so pathetic I couldnt even keep myself from crying. I'm so weak'

Orihime spent the rest of the period on the roof. She dried her eyes and headed back to class hoping no one would notice anything.

* * *

'Oh great, as if things weren't already awkward from yesterday, now they're gonna be so much worse.' she was dreading going back to class.

As she walked in the room, she kept her head down so no one would notice her swollen read eyes. She could sense the gazes but no they all turned their eyes back to the front. No one suspected anything. 'Perfect' she thought.

As she was approaching her seat, she noticed the desk next to hers was occupied, meaning that Ichigo had already returned to class. She avoided looking at him at all costs and made sure he wouldn't see her face.

She took her seat and kept her head down all class. Orihime could feel eyes on her, she knew whos they were too- Uryus. He always knew when something was wrong and he always worried about her.

After the period ended they had a few minutes break between classes. Orihime put her head down knowing that Uryu would get the message. He gave her space when he felt she needed it, he was good at reading the scene.

'I cant wait for this day to end' she thought.

* * *

'I suggest you talk to her today, maybe figure out this whole misunderstanding between you two.'

'Yeah, I need to. Im gonna head back to class now.' said the teen as he picked up his bag and headed out the door. He wasnt sure where to find her so he figured he would wait until lunch. To kill some time, he walked through the halls for a while then found his way back to the classroom 5 minutes before.

Right away, he looked at the desk in the back of the classroom by the window, expecting to see an auburn haired girl dozing off looking out the window. He was shocked to see the empty seat. People avoided eye contact with him but he felt a burning gaze on him from some random kid with glasses.

'Huh? Did i do something to him?' Ichigo wondered. He never picks fights with people that arent hurting others, he doesnt remember getting in a fight with him, why is he so mad? People were generally scared of Ichigo thats why they avoided him, no one ever looked at him like that before.

He took his seat and waited for Orihime to come.

As soon as the period ended, the door opened and everyone looked up. It was Orihime.

Ichigos heart sank, he knew something was wrong. She kept her head down didn't bother looking up at anyone. This was pretty unusual she was always cheery. 'Oh great, i really fucked up this time.'

She didn't look up the whole period, it was stressing him out. 'I dont know anything about her but I went off running my mouth as if I did.' he was dreading lunch because he knew he needed to confront her. He watched as she put her head down, pretty obvious she didn't want tot talk to anyone.

* * *

As the final period before lunch began, she lifted her head off her desk, took out her Trigonometry books and just stared at the full page of notes waiting for the teacher to go on with her lesson.

Orihime already knew todays lesson. She is a day ahead on all of her classes. She studied and memorized everything the night before. She had her notes out in front of her, so when Ms. Yoruichi tried to catch her off guard by randomly calling on her for an answer, she didn't even need to lift her head to answer.

It wasnt a shock to anyone (except Ichigo) that she was smart and ahead of the class. Due to her personal circumstances, she didn't have much of a choice other than to have excellent grades. She couldnt afford not to.

'Ugh I cant attract attention but everything im doing is so unusual. This isnt going so well.' Orihime found herself having an incredibly difficult time sitting through this day.

As she was lost in her thoughts, Orihime noticed some movement from her right, and she saw something sliding on her desk. It was a note. She looked at it quite perplexed, having no idea who it couldve been from. Certainly not from Ichigo, he was just passing it along.

'I need to talk to you at lunch. Meet me on the roof' Was all it said. Orihime had no idea who wrote this, she couldn't recognize the handwriting so she knew it wasn't one of her friends.

'Well I guess I can go up and see what this person wants.' she thought.

* * *

Ichigo was just about to slide the note he'd written over to Orihime when Ms. Yoruichi called on her. He tensed up, almost getting caught passing a note. How embarrassing would that have been!

He turned over to look at Orihime wondering if she was as lost as he was. But the answer came flowing out of her mouth as if it was easy.

He sat there mouth gaping and utterly shocked. He felt like an idiot, he didn't understand anything she just said. 'What the hell?' was all he could think 'and she didn't even have to look at the board?! Is she human?!'

Once all the attention was away from Orihime, he slowly slid the note on her desk. He faced forward to avoid any awkward eye contact and then patiently waited for this class to end.

'Maybe she wont even show up, I wont blame her if she doesn't. I don't trust most people in this school, they're shady. I let my distrust and temper get the best of me.' He dreaded the talk but he knew he had to apologize to her. Judging her unfairly based on his own insecurities. He was turning into someone he hated.

'Before class ends I need to make this announcement for Orihime and Ichigo since they werent here earlier, but this will be a reminder for you guys too.' this gets both of the gingers attention, they perked up, 'since everyone already has partners, I'm pairing you too to be study buddies for the first exam coming up in two weeks.'

Both of their jaws dropped and they immediately looked at each other. 'Oh my god this cant be happening' they both thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Both of their jaws dropped and they immediately looked at each other. 'Oh my god this cant be happening' they both thought.

Their eyes as wide as they could go, staring right at one another, mouths gaping but no words came out. There was tension so thick between the two that you could cut it with a knife.

It didn't seem that anyone else in class noticed though. I think they were more shocked at the idea that Ichigo and Orihime would be meeting after class to study together. The scariest guy in school with the nicest girl. This was gonna be interesting.

They were all oblivious to the short but very uncomfortable history these two share.

The gingers slowly turned their heads to the front of the class, they tried to act as normal as possible. The bell rang and Ichigo was gone before Orihime could gather her books.

'Oh great. One thing after another.' she thought 'at least this should help us clear up any misunderstandings. If he doesnt wanna be friends that's fine, but we have to at least learn how to be civil.' Orihime was trying to calm herself down as much as she could, trying to find some silver lining in this rather bleak situation.

'Well right now I have to go up and see who needs to talk to me, and why.'' Head held high, eyes back to normal after all that swelling, she made her way out the classroom and up to the roof.

* * *

Ichigo was waiting for Orihime, he wasn't sure if she would show up, but it would be impolite to eat without her after he called her up.

'Crap' he thought 'crap, crap, crap, crap. Nothings going right. I stuck one big foot in my mouth yesterday and i stuck the other one in there today. I was supposed to apologize but made it worse instead. Now we have to be partners and study together. I'm so screwed, she wont bother to help me out. She doesn't even need to study she knows everything we did in class today. Im gonna be in this stupid loop of confusion and then Ill get mad and give up.'

As the panic that was consuming his inner thoughts was bubbling, it came to an abrupt halt as he heard the door of the roof close.

He looked up to see her. Petite but curvy, beautiful and innocent face with her long hair flowing in the light breeze. Ichigo was stumped. Stumped that she came and stumped and her beauty.

Orihime stood there staring at him, unsure of what to say. Needless to mention she was stumped too!

'I didn't think you were the one who asked me up here' she said with a slight laugh and she began walking to him.

'Would you have come if you knew?' he was curious what she would say.

She took a brief moment to consider it. 'Yes' she replied 'I would have'

'Why?'

'What do you mean why?'

'Because I was a dick. Why would you come see me anyway?'

'Hmm... Well I doubt you'd call me here for nothing so I would come see what you'd want. I still came up even though I didn't know who wrote the note.'

'Oh...' Was all Ichigo could say. He knew he had to apologize but he didn't know how. _What am i supposed to say?_

'If you called me up here to apologize, you don't need to.' Orihime leaned on a railing and put her head in her hand as she looked out at the school yard. She had a sad smile on her face, one that made ichigo's stomach flop because he knew he was the one to cause it.

Since he was little, he made a vow with himself not to hurt girls. After letting his mom get hurt, he swore to never let it happen again.

Orihime continued before Ichigo could say anything in return, 'You don't need to apologize because what you said was true. I don't try to make people like me, but I can't find it in my heart to displease them either. Lets just say the last time I got in an argument with someone, things didn't turn out quite so well. I try to do what i can so that doesn't happen again.'

'I did call you up here to apologize, so that's exactly what i'm gonna do. But before that I wanna say this- Whatever happened, happened. You can't change it, but that doesn't mean you need to keep taking other people's shit. Be yourself but also be happy. If people say things to you that you don't like, tell them. Don't just nod your head and smile like that. You don't have to be perfect for everyone.'

The words just came pouring out of Ichigo's mouth, he didn't even know where they were coming from. I guess from his own personal mistakes that he made when he was younger.

Orihime turned her head to look at him as he spoke. She was surprised to hear him speak to her like this, so gentle yet assertive in his tone. She knew he meant well.

'I didn't mean what I said. I said it because I don't do well in awkward situations I just get angry and lose my temper. I already felt bad about yesterday and I wasn't happy about that stupid therapy session. I just... I didn't know what to do. I'm sorry that i hurt your feelings. You didn't deserve it.'

'I can definitely see why people don't like you' she said with a serious face.

Ichigo's stomach completely dropped. He was disappointed to hear that from her, but can't say he's surprised. 'Right' he said dejectedly.

'But they just need a minute to hear you out' she smiled at him. 'It's scary when you lose your temper, but I think you're a good guy, you just need to learn how to talk to people more normally ya know? Don't yell at them right off the bat! She nudged his shoulder playfully.

Ichigo's cheeks were dusted a light shade of pink. He didn't expect her to be so forgiving.

'I accept your apology on one condition'

'What is it?' he asked, kind of nervous about what she was scheming.

'You have to be sure to show up to every study session for this test, and every project we have! I can't exactly afford to do bad on anything'

'Well I wasn't expecting that at all honestly. I thought you'd tell me to go study by myself or something after what happened today!'

Orihime started laughing ' I'm not as mean and hostile as you think I am Ichigo! Now how about we have some lunch cause I'm starving!'

Lunch was a bit awkward for them, Ichigo could tell Orihime was trying to make it as comfortable as she could, he was the issue here. He didn't really know how to talk to her but he enjoyed it anyway.

* * *

Both students were relieved to have finally had a chance to talk. Clearly, they weren't best friends immediately, but things were looking up. Could this be a budding friendship between the two?


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! Im so sorry for my sudden disappearance. Honestly a lot has happened in my life. I got engaged back in November to my high school sweetheart! I got a new job as a case manager for formerly homeless people. I was having a lot of personal things going on as well. It was a very stressful time for me. I will be updating more frequently from now on! Either once a week or once every two weeks! 3**

 **Thank you SOO much for taking the time out of your day to read this. This story has 32 followers. I know it doesnt sound like a lot to you guys, but it amazes me that 32 people are interested in this story. 32 people is enough to fill up an entire classroom. I cant express how much it means to me to have even 1 person, let alone 32 read my story! 3**

* * *

Orihime kept looking out the window. This was not unusual.

What _was_ unusual though, was staring out the window to hide her face. Normally she spaced out, not that she couldn't pay attention but because she already knew the material. This time was different.

She was trying to hide the smile that was plastered on her face.

After lunch, the two redheads walked in class together chit chatting. This caught the attention of their fellow classmates but they didn't seem to notice. Everyone avoided eye contact in fear of getting caught by ichigo but they all stole small glances anyway.

The two students sat down and took out their books. Class began shortly after and they didn't talk the entire time. Ichigo was bored but he tried his hardest to pay attention and take notes. He found himself glancing over at his new study buddy, never catching a glance at her face.

* * *

As the final bell rang, indicating the day was over and everyone could pack up and leave, Ichigo noticed someone was in his way when he tried to get up.

When Ichigo's eyes made their way up to said person's face, he recognized the menacing glare immediately.

'Uhhh...do you need something?' Ichigo asked, he was clueless as to why this student was standing in front of him.

'Yeah, we need to talk outside.' Uryu's voice did not waver. He showed no fear, only anger.

'Why?"

'Because there's something i need to talk to you about and i'd rather not do it here in front of everyone so just meet me in back of the school.'

Ichigo was perplexed but he decided he would go and hear this kid out. No one's ever approached him like this before, he was curious so he got up and followed Uryu out.

They walked through the halls, Ichigo behind Uryu, neither said a word to each other.

Orihime noticed the two of them walking, _that's weird_ , she thought.

Then, she noticed Uryu's face and knew nothing good could come from whatever was about to happen. She started to speed walk through the halls, going as fast as her legs could take her.

Too bad she's so popular with everyone, people kept trying to stop her and talk, squeezing her in between people in the crowded hallways. Normally she would stop and chat for a bit, but she had a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She apologized as she kept pushing through them, becoming more frantic as they got further and further away. She was beginning to panic, started hyperventilating as the other students kept cornering her. She knew they meant no harm, but she didn't want it. Orihime started sweating as she took in deep breaths. She put her hands to her head to try and drown out their voices, that's when she felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her into an empty classroom.

'Are you okay?!'

Orihime turned around to see who saved her, she saw it was her best friend; Tatsuki.

'Oh Tatsuki it was horrible!' she began to cry as she hugged her. 'Sorry but no time to talk! I think something really bad is about to happen between Uryu and Ichigo, I need to go stop it!'

She ran out before Tatsuki could even process what she heard.

* * *

'You're a real selfish piece of shit aren't ya?' Uryu said through his teeth.

'Whad'ya say?' Ichigo was pissed, 'who the fuck are you? Acting like you know shit about me.'

'You think that shit you said to Orihime went unnoticed? You humiliated her in front of the entire class and for what? Because you wanna sit at your desk and be a lonely and miserable piece of shit? What gives you the right to mistreat someone who just wanted to be your friend?'

Ichigo was stumped, he had no come back. Nothing to say to defend himself. 'It's not like that, it's not what you think. We got off on a bad start but we talked and fixed things.' Ichigo ran his hand through his hair, he knew he couldn't get mad at this kid.

As a matter of fact, even though he was annoying as hell, Ichigo admired four eyes' courage and loyalty to his friend.

'That's not good enough' Uryu said as he was getting ready to throw the first punch.

Ichigo was ready to defend.

Out of nowhere Orihime ran in between them. She stood in front of Ichigo with her arms out to protect him.

 _SHIT_ Uryu thought, _It's too late I can't stop myself!_

The distress on his face gave away what was about to happen. Orihime shut her eyes tightly and braced herself for the harsh blow she was about to receive.

But that blow never came. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Ichigo infront of her, Uryu's hand enclosed within his own.

Ichigo saved her.

She stood there, unable to move, just staring at him in utter shock.

He turned his head, just enough to make eye contact with her, 'Please don't ever do that again. You don't need to worry about me getting hurt. You need to be careful okay?' He tried to sound stern, but she could only hear the concern in his voice.

'Im sorry' she said quietly,' I saw you and Uryu walking together and I knew Uryu was mad. I couldn't _not_ come!'

'Uryu' she started, 'I know that you were mad, I know that you knew I was hurt. Thank you so much for being a great friend and caring enough to stand up for me. Me and Ichigo talked earlier, everything between us is cleared up. I'm sorry I didn't have time to explain it to you earlier'

Uryu felt embarrassed that he went as far as he did. The anger he felt about the incident, about how Ichigo told Orihime that she was doing nothing but giving him pity. He knew nothing about her but he had the audacity to sit there and add more to the hurt she already has.

'I'm sorry Orihime.' Uryu said at last. He looked at ichigo, 'I'm not going to apologize for trying to fight you. And I still don't like you, so be wary of yourself and how you treat Orihime.'

'Look, I didn't do it on purpose. But I don't really care if you dont like me. Get in line four eyes.' Was all Ichigo said before he walked away.

Orihime bowed and apologized to Uryu for leaving him so suddenly but she had to go talk to Ichigo.

'Waiiittttt Ichigoooooo' he heard her calling out. He turned around and saw her jogging to him waving her hands to make sure he wouldn't miss her.

He couldn't miss seeing her even if she tried though honestly. Her hair was unique, she was beautiful and he body was amazing. She was hard to miss, not just to him, he noticed the soccer team staring at her as she ran by them.

She was oblivious to them but he wasn't.

'Sorry about what happened with Uryu... There have been some instances in the past where people will try to break me down. He was always there to help me, I guess he thought what happened with you was the same.'

'Its fine, i don't blame him at all honestly. He was being a good friend, anyone would've done it.'

'Ah, I knew it.'

She smiled, clasped her hands together behind her back and walked in front of him, smugly.

'Knew it? What did you know?' he was confused as he followed her off of school property.

'I knew you were a good friend. You're very loyal!' She stopped right outside the gate and turned to face him! She couldn't contain her happiness, she knew he was a good person!

'What? You don't even know me! What makes you say that?' he was looking down on her, he felt the urge to smile but suppressed it. It was hard to not smile though, she was cute and bubbly. He happiness was contagious.

'You're not mad at Uryu because he wanted to fight you to protect me. That means that you would do the same for your friends too!'

'Oh... well yeah of course.' he crossed his arms, he never thought fighting to help his friends made him a good friend or person.

'I'm going down this way, which way is your house?' She asked him as she pointed to the right.

'Oh my house is that way too actually.'

'Yayy! Wanna walk together?' She asked innocently. But immediately after she turned bright red and realized how it must have sounded to him. 'I mean just as friends though okay?! Not as anything else. Omg im such an idiot, that came out totally wrong. Im not asking you out on a date...'

She kept blurting things out frantically as her arms were flailing.

Ichigo let out a light chuckle, this stopped her immediately. That was the first time she's seen him smile.

 _He should smile more osten, it looks really good on him_ She thought.

'Yeah, let's walk together.'


	8. Chapter 8

'Yayy! Wanna walk together?' he heard her say, caught by surprise, Ichigo's eyes widened a little as he looked at her. She must have noticed his expression, cause she started rambling right after the words came out of her mouth.

I mean just as friends though okay?! Not as anything else. Omg im such an idiot, that came out totally wrong. I'm not asking you out on a date...'

 _Haha, she's cute_ Ichigo thought, _I know better than to think she would mean it as a date. Still, seeing her all flustered like this is pretty funny._ The boy couldn't help but let a small chuckle slip.

'Yeah, let's walk together' he said softly, turned and began walking.

'Mhm' Orihime nodded and quickly caught up to him.

It was silent.

* * *

 _Ah great, we're walking together and I have no idea what to talk to him about!_ Orihime was having an inner meltdown trying to think of something to talk about

'So what's your favorite planet?' she blurted out.

'Uhh... Earth?' Ichigo stated

'Boringggg!'

'Whaddya mean boring!? It's the best planet! We have trees, and water and animals! Earth is the only planet that we know of that sustains life, of course it's gonna be my favorite. It's the coolest!"

'Yeah but thats so basic!'

'Oh yeah? What's your favorite planet then since you're not basic!' he teased.

'Neptune!'

'Neptune? Of all planets, why neptune?'

'Cause its really beautiful. It this very nice blue color. And King neptune in spongebob is named after it, heehee' she giggle smiling ear to ear.

'I'm guessing your favorite color is blue then?' Ichigo thought her reasoning was a bit weird. Hes not like what he expected her to be. _Little miss popular is pretty quirky huh?_ He thought.

'Nope! Orange is my favorite. It makes me happy'

'Ahh, that makes sense, I should've guessed'

'How come?'

'You just seem like the type to like orange.'

'Well you seem like the type to like...hmmm... Give me a sec'

Ichigo glanced at her while she was deep in thought as they walked. He smirked as he watched her. Her hand to her chin, barely paying attention to where she was going.

'Any day now princess!' he said playfully.

Orihime was red with embarrassment 'Its red!' she blurted.

'Huh, you got it!' he said.

'I knew it, i'm a genius' she said smugly and playfully.

The two continued to make random small talk the rest of the way home.

'Ah, that's my apartment up there' she pointed to the third floor, 'call me when you're downstairs on Saturday, I'll come down and get you. Don't forget your books' she reminded him.

Ichigo observed the building and the area. It's not the safest neighborhood, he did go out of his way to walk her home.

 _I wasn't planning on walking her home after today but I think I might have to_ he thought.

'You sure you wouldn't want to come to my house? Would your family be mad if their daughter brought home some scary looking guy?'

Orihime chuckled, 'Dont worry, no one will be home.' she said.

'Okay so I'll see you Saturday at 1pm right?' he asked,

'Yeah sounds good! Thank you for walking me. Hope your house isn't too far, I feel bad you came all the way here.'

'Nah, I'm not too far from you. Besides, I needed to come so I could know how to get here for our study session. You should head on in now though, I'll go after I see that you're inside.'

'Wow, who would've thought that the big bad Ichigo was actually so sweet' she nudged his arm.

Ichigo's face turned red as he became obviously frazzled.

'Hahahah Just teasing' Orihime laughed wholeheartedly. 'Bye Ichigo, see you tomorrow' she waved at him as she walked away.

Once she shut the door behind her, she looked out the window and saw Ichigo turn around and walk away.

 _He is so sweet,_ she thought. _I should go to the store and buy some snacks for tomorrow. I should also clean my place up. I dont want him to think I'm some slob!_

And so, our beautiful Orihime began to frantically clean her whole apartment as though God himself was coming to inspect it.

* * *

Ichigo made sure to wait until the door was closed behind her when she went in.

 _Man this girl just walks around with her head in the clouds all the time. Not a care in the world. She's so innocent, but that could really get her in trouble one of these days. She should watch out more, maybe carry some pepper spray?_ He pondered these things as he walked home to try and drown out his feelings of anxiety for tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

The clock read 1:43am as Ichigo lay in bed staring up at his ceiling unable to fall asleep on Friday night. His usual calm composure was wavering as Saturday approached quicker and quicker by the second.

 _What if she gets in trouble for hanging out with a guy like me? Most parents dont like me and I doubt anyone in_ _her_ _family would be okay seeing their daughter being friends with me. Should I bring something as a gift? Maybe a little cake to make it less awkward? Ugh it's not even a big deal. I dont even give a shit what people think! why am I so worried anyway? It's not like anything weird is gonna happen, we're just gonna study. Wait... Study? CRAP!_

Ichigo flew off his bed and ran to his bag to make sure he had the right books in there. 'Ughhh I got so caught up about the whole family situation I completely forgot that I'm so behind! Orihime's gonna be so mad when I get there and she knows everything and I dont know shit. I dont think I'm even gonna pass this test' Ichigo was grumbling to himself unable to calm his nerves.

'It's alright, just go to sleep, it'll be fine. We'll figure it out in the morning' He reassured himself as he laid back down, _well at least I can sleep in_ , he thought.

* * *

Orihime closed the door behind her and watched as Ichigo walked away. As soon as he was out of sight she flung her bag on the couch ran to her room and changed clothes. She got all her cleaning supplies out and prepared herself for the biggest home cleaning she's ever done before.

Orihime put her hair up in a ponytail, face mask and gloves were on as well.

'Hmm... maybe I should even get some goggles to keep my eyes from burning from the bleach' she thought. Before she could start cleaning, Orihime heard a knock at her door.

'Orihime open up! It's me!' the auburn haired girl recognized the all too familiar voice. 'Cominnggggg Tatsuki!' she skipped over and opened the door to let her best friend in.

'I'm glad you're here! Take this and help me out' she handed a broom and dustpan over to her before Tatsuki even had the chance to take her shoes off.

'Huh? What's with the deep cleaning? Did you kill someone and now you're trying to get rid of the evidence?!' Tatsuki said sarcastically.

'Oh Tatsuki Ichigo is coming over tomorrow because we were assigned to be study buddies for this big exam coming up and I dont want him to think I live like a pig!'

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow at this statement.

'Okay well first off, you dont live even remotely close to living like a pig. You're house is always spotless and second of all! Ichigo is coming here tomorrow?! OOOOhhhhhh' she teased Orihime, poking her shoulder and wiggling her eyebrows.

This made Orihime blush profusely 'Aaaah no Tatsuki dont do that! You're embarrassing me, it's not like that! We're just studying I swear. Now start sweeping!'

'Alright alrightttt jeez' Tatsuki huffed as she started sweeping. 'Oh that reminds me, are you not gonna tell me why you ran away yesterday when I pulled you out of that crowd in the halls?'

'Oh wow i completely forgot about that! I'm so sorry i couldn't explain in time. You see when I first asked Ichigo to hang out with me you and Uryu, he got mad and said he didn't need my pity and he got really mad at me. I think Uryu heard him and got really mad about it so when I saw them leaving together and I saw Uryu's face I knew he was gonna try and do something. I didn't want them to fight I was so worried I ran out as fast as I could. Sorry I couldn't tell you sooner it just slipped my mind.'

'Aw it's okay, don't worry about it. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with you, you looked so worried I thought something happened.'

* * *

The two girls didn't finish until 9:30pm. The house was clean as a whistle. 'Phewww I'm pooped!' Orihime announced to Tatsuki. 'Oh no! I have to go buy snacks and some juice!'

'Why dont you just go tomorrow morning?' Tatsuki asked, too tired to even open her eyes when she spoke. Orihime was sitting on the floor as Tatsuki laid herself on the couch.

'I'm not sure what time Ichigo will come tomorrow so I have to get everything now. What if he shows up and I'm not home?'

'Wouldn't he just call you?'

'Um... About that... I forgot to give him my number.'

A loud smack was heard, Orihime quickly turned her head to see Tatsuki facepalming herself

'C'mon let's go' she heard her friend say.

'Oh it's okay I can go by myself, you already helped me so much by cleaning with me'

'It'll be quick, we're just picking up a few things anyway so I'll just come with you.' The two girls put their shoes on and headed to the store together.

'You know, normally I'd be stressed about having some guy come over your house especially since you live by yourself. But Ichigo is someone I really trust. I haven't been able to really speak to him all that much lately, we went our separate ways after we started high school. New friend groups, different activities and hobbies. But I trust him 100%. He's a really good guy Orihime.' Tatsuki said seriously.

Orihime stared at her best friend before she said anything, really letting what she just heard sink in. 'I know' was all she said with a small smile on her face and a slight nod.

Despite Ichigo's bad rep, Orihime could sense that Ichigo was actually really nice. He reminded her of a poptart; hard on the outside but gooey in the middle. She knew he was really a sweet guy, maybe he just got mixed up with the wrong crowds.

* * *

11:30am Ichigo's door flung open as his dad barged in obnoxiously waking his son up by flinging the sheets off of him and dumping water on his head.

'What the hell!? Are you kidding me right now?!' Ichigo woke up fuming!

'Well dont be a lazy little shit and wake up earlier next time!'

'It's saturday! This is a normal time to sleep until! I'm a teenager, this is normal!'

'You missed Yuzu's delicious breakfast, you better be up for her lunch!'

'Wait... What time is it?' Ichigo panicked and looked at his clock, 'Oh, it's only 11:30 okay perfect. I have to leave at 12:30 so I'll just have a light lunch'

'Where you going?' his dad asked

'I have to go study for a test with a classmate today' Ichigo said as he got his towel and headed for the bathroom to take a shower.

* * *

It was a nice sunny day outside with a slight breeze. _Perfect hoodie weather_ Ichigo thought as he was getting dressed. He put on a white t-shirt with a black hoodie over it and some black slim fit jeans.

 _I should text Orihime and let her know I'm on my way_

Just as he pulled his phone out, he realized he didn't have her number. _Great_ he thought. _I'll ask her for it later._ He headed out the door after putting his sneakers on.

Walking down the street a little shop a few blocks from Orihime's house caught his eye. It was a bakery. He stood in front of it for a minute, hesitant on whether to get a cake or not. He decided against it and walked away. _That's so corny_.

* * *

Orihime woke up at 10am and decided to get dressed. She didn't know when Ichigo would be coming and she didn't want him to catch her in her pajamas.

 _Hmmm... what to wear what to wear? This skirt maybe?_ She tried on a denim skirt with a form fitting tank top. _Nope, it's fall I'll be too cold._ She threw the skirt on the bed. _What about these jeans?_ She tried on a pair of light wash high waisted jeans with a crop top. _Ugh not this either_. She threw outfit number two on the floor. _Oh I got it!_ She put on black skinny jeans with rips at the knees and a 3/4 sleeve black and white baseball tee. _Perfect!_ She excitedly exclaimed looking at herself in the mirror.

The shirt fit tightly around her chest, but that's not something she could help. The shirt was not form fitting, which sometimes makes her self conscious. Her skinny jeans hugged her curves. She debated putting her hair up but decided against it.

Orihime waited "patiently" for Ichigo to show up, _maybe he's still asleep? I wonder what time he'll be here_.

She laid down on her couch in the living room and scrolled through her Instagram. She turned her tv on to watch something but ended up just leaving it to make some white noise while she browsed her social media accounts.

1pm came around and she heard a knock on the door. She sat up so quickly she almost fall off the couch! _Oh oh he's here!_

Orihime walked to the door, she would've run but didn't wanna seem super eager, and opened the door with a smile.

'Hey Orihime!'

Orihime's face deadpanned. 'Oh hey Tatsuki'

'Oh wow, take it easy with all this enthusiasm.' Tatsuki said sarcastically. 'Relax I'm only here to give you this bag of juice, I brought it home with me last night by accident.' She held the bag up full of

Orihime turned red, 'I'm sorry! Didn't mean it like that!'

'Yeah yeah, don't worry, you're prince charming will definitely come today. He doesn't flake.' she said with a smirk.

'Oh my god Tatsuki shush! Gimme the juice and get out of here! So embarrassing' Orihime was huffing and puffing. She took the bag from Tatsuki's hand 'byeee I'll see you later!' she started closing the door.

Tatsuki started laughing as she turned around, 'see you later! Tell me everything!'.

5 minutes later Orihime heard another knock, she stomped her way over and opened the door with an jokingly angry and pouty face 'You're back again!?'

'Um... i can go if you want?' said a very confused Ichigo.

'OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY!' Orihime blurted out as she was shaking her hands to indicate she didn't mean that for him 'I thought you were Tatsuki, she was just here I thought it was her!'

Ichigo chuckled. He couldn't help but steal small glances at Orihime, observing her face, what she was wearing, her body. _God, she'd gorgeous_ he thought.

'Come in come in' Orihime moved out of the way to let him in. Ichigo took of his shoes and handed a bag to orihime, she looked at it puzzled 'Huh? What's this?' she asked.

'It's a cake... I thought I should bring one over.'

Orihime couldn't help but snort,' Oh my, I didn't peg you to be such a gentleman Mr. Kurosaki' she teased.

A light blush crept on Ichigo's face as he became extremely embarrassed of his decision to go back and buy the cake. _I shouldve just walked away but NoOoOoOo i just had to go back and get the cake!_

'Thank you very much! I'll serve us some later, have a seat!'

They walked in the living room together. Ichigo sat down on the couch as Orihime went to the Kitchen to pour some drinks and bring some snacks over.

She brought everything over in a tray and took a seat somewhat close to Ichigo. There was enough distance for someone else to fit between them.

'Thanks' he said. 'Where is everyone? They went out? There were no shoes by the door other than yours'

'Ah... Well I live alone, hehe' she scratched the back of her head.

'Alone?! You're parents let you live by yourself? What that's awesome!'

'Not really... I actually dont' have parents. My brother Sora took me when I was a kid and we ran away together. Our parents were really abusive and he was certain they were gonna kill us. They were violent drunks. Sora raised me all on his own, but then when I was 14, he got into an accident and they couldn't save him. So I live here by myself, and I get a monthly allowance from some distant relatives. They're strict though, if my grades drop, I get less money. I know it sounds bad but it's a really good way to keep me studying!'

Ichigo didn't have any words, all he could do was look at her.

'You said you hated pity, well so do I, so please stop giving me that sad face. I see Kisuke because he helps me deal with those issues. I'm slowly coming to terms with it. It gets lonely here but Tatsuki comes to visit me so please don't be sad for me!'

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to give you any type of look. I just never would have expected to hear something like that from someone like you', he lowered his eyes and looked at the snacks suddenly losing his appetite.

'Look Ichigo, I could spend my whole life being sad about what happened. But being sad wont bring Sora back. It won't make my parents good people and it wont make my living situation any better. I made friends that I love and care about. This is my life now, I dont want to spend it crying all the time. Actually! Wanna meet Sora?! He would love to meet you!'

Orihime stood up quickly with a smile on her face. Ichigo was stuck in place shocked about what was even happened. She reached down grabbed his hand and brought him over to see Sora's little shrine.

'Hi Sora! This is my new friend, his name is Ichigo!'

'Oh... Uh- Hi, it's nice to meet you'


	10. Chapter 10

Ichigo observed the shrine, _It's so well taken care of_ , he thought. It was completely spotless. She placed flowers and some food as an offering to him. _I lost my mom when I was a kid and I still can't really get over it. She lost everything, I can't imagine how she must've felt when she lost Sora too._

'What's wrong?' she asked Ichigo after noticing he was lost in his thoughts.

'I'm sorry. I can't imagine what you must've been through and what you continue to go through.' was all he could say. He didn't turn to look at her, he was too busy taking in Sora's details from the picture unable to shake the feeling that he had seen this mas somewhere before but couldn't place his finger on it.

Orihime smiled slightly, 'Thank you' was all she felt that she needed to say.

They sat back down and decided to start studying.

'Okay so I made us a study guide. It's broken down by categories and subcategories so we can stay on track!' Orihime said sounding very determined.

'Wow you're really organized huh?' he was pretty surprised at her studying methods being so well thought out, but then again she is second in their grade. _Wait a second?_

'You said you have to keep your grades up or your allowance drops?'

'Yeah, but they're only gonna pay for my living expenses until I graduate, after that I'm on my own. If I dont get good grades then I won't be able to afford food and rent so I have to be on top of my work.'

'I bet that gets really overwhelming for you huh?'

'Sometimes it gets stressful because my income isn't guaranteed, but at least I have one. At least I have food and running water with electricity, heat and a roof over my head. I can't complain too much.'

Ichigo stared at Orihime as she spoke, he never thought she would be so level headed and humble.

Orihime turned her attention to Ichigo and they both locked eyes. She became entranced in the pool of golden brown which were his eyes. They were warm, inviting and close. She felt herself relaxed around him. She wanted to ask him questions about his life. She wanted to know who he was, where he came from. She wanted to know what his family was like and how close they all are. She wondered about his relationship with his family and if they argue and tease each other. She was imagining what Ichigo was like at home and how he acted with his friends and family. _It's cute_ she thought at the idea of him being playful and loving to people close to him when he's cold to the rest of the world.

Ichigo stared into her large grey eyes. He stared at her face, her cute nose and plump lips. He stared at the way her hair flowed and the snowflake pins in them. He stared at her and thought of how innocent and pure she was, how much happiness she radiated and how much she cared for others. He thought about her losses and her personal struggles. He wanted to tell her that she is perfect. _What?_ He caught himself off guard. He shook his head and turned to the books feeling embarrassed at his thoughts of her. _I hope she didn't notice me staring!_ He sneakily glanced over at her to see her staring at the books, blushing, looking like she was avoiding him.

* * *

She made her way away from his eyes. She looked at his hair _his is orange, I wonder if people bothered him about it too. Probably not though he probably scared them away if they even tried._ She imagined him as a kid waving his fist at whoever tried to bully him. She made her way over to his jaw line, sharp and manly. She looked at what he was wearing and how well it fit his athletic build. She looked at his lips and couldn't look away from them. She found herself wanting to make the gap between them smaller. She wanted to know his scent, she wanted to feel his body heat radiating off of him. She wanted to feel him. She saw him look away and immediately realized how inappropriate she was being.

 _How disgusting of me to stare like that! He probably thinks im some pervert trying to lure him into my house and not study. He probably heard what the girls say about me in school and thinks im some slut that will sleep around with anyone._

Orihime stared at her books ashamed of how she made herself look in front of a guest.

'Let's get started!' She said trying to sound normal but came off as too enthusiastic instead.

 _Oh great_ Ichigo thought, _she definitely feels awkward right now._

'Yeah, I think I'm gonna need a lot of help honestly' said the orange haired boy looking a bit ashamed and embarrassed.

'Well that's why we're doing this right? To help each other study!' she smiled.

'Trust me, I think this 'help' is gonna be one sided' he stated in which Orihime giggled in response.

Orihime sat on the floor and opened up the textbook on the table. Ichigo made his way down to the floor too sitting closer to her than earlier.

* * *

It was now 8pm. Orihime has been tutoring Ichigo for 7 hours.

 _I know he said he needed help but I kept finding myself backtracking until we got up to a concept he actually understood, and that was in the middle of last years lecture. We have over 6 months of work to study for in less than 2 weeks!_ Orihime panicked a little, afraid she won't be able to help him catch up by the time of the exam.

'I think I should get out of here, it won't look good if someone sees a guy in your apartment at this time.' Ichigo said slightly embarrassed that he allowed himself to stay this late. He didn't want anyone to get the wrong impression.

'Haha, don't worry about me!' Orihime said politely. She's heard it all she wasn't gonna get hurt over some rumors spreading if she was helping Ichigo study, he really needed it.

Orihime walked Ichigo to the door, 'You didn't bring a sweater? It's not that hot out right now let me get you something'

Before he could protest, Orihime had already run into her room. _Hmmmm... I dont really have anything other than Sora's stuff. I hope they fit him, they're around the same size_.

Orihime brought a pullover hoodie for Ichigo to wear, 'wear this, it should fit!'

She put the hoodie in his hands, he stood there and looked at it confused.

'It was Sora's, you're about the same height as he was so it should fit you!'

'Orihime, I can't take this' Ichigo said, stumped. _This must be so special to her there's no way._

'You can bring it back tomorrow' she said smiling conivingly.

'Tomorrow?' Ichigo asked confused with a raised eyebrow.

'Yessir, you're 6 months behind and we have a big exam in less than 2 weeks, we have to study together every day until you're all caught up.'

'What?! 6 months?!' _Holy shitttt!_ Ichigo thought, _How fucking embarrassing oh my god. Wait a second..._

'We can't study every day,' he said.

'Do you have something else to do after school or weekends that are more important that your grades, huh Ichigo?!' she said sternly but playfully. He knew she was being serious but didn't want to come off bossy.

'Honestly, it's cause I feel bad. You're gonna have a lot of work to do for me to catch up. I didn't even know how far behind I was.'

'Oh shush, be here tomorrow at 1pm again okay?'

'You sure?!' he asked, Ichigo felt terrible, he felt like such a burden to her.

'Ughhhhhh, Yessss Ichigo!' she said purposely being over dramatic, he chuckled. She blushed at the sound unable to help thinking that it was attractive. Hearing it made her happy.

'Here' he said handing Orihime his phone, 'I dont have your number'

'Oh right! I was gonna ask you for it earlier but I forgot!' she took the phone out of his hands, slightly brushing her hand against his accidentally. His hands were manly but they were smoother than she expected. She put her number in and texted herself so she could have his number.

'Alright I'll see you tomorrow Orihime' he said softly with a gentle smile as he opened the door to leave.

Orihime stood there by the door and waved 'good night Ichigo! Get home safe' She waited until he was down the stairs to close the door.

* * *

45 minutes later, Orihime found herself relaxed on her couch looking at her phone debating whether or not to ask Ichigo if he got home okay. _What if he thinks I'm bieng annoying? All up in his business and stuff, I'm already making him come back tomorrow! Ughhh but I'm so worried, what if he didn't make it home?!_

'Yoloooo' she said and pressed send.

* * *

*Dingggg* Ichigo heard his phone go off


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Ichigo, just stepping in his room with a towel wrapped around his waist after taking a nice hot shower, heard his phone go off. He walked over and saw it was from Orihime. She said "Heyy! Just wanted to see if you made it home okay, it was pretty dark when you left :/"

Ichigo couldn't help but smile as he read this.

The big tough Ichigo, the same kid the whole school thought to be a scary thug, was being asked if he made it home okay. It actually made him chuckle.

"Oh sorry! I got home a little earlier. Haha, i dont think you'll need to worry about me making it home though, there aren't too many people that think i'm an easy target :P"

Ichigo put his phone down and decided to put on a t-shirt and a pair of sweats before turning on his PlayStation to play some games.

*ding* he heard again.

"Oh.. yeah I guess that's true, didn't think about it heehee. Sorry!"

Ichigo wanted to reply. He wanted to tell her she should be worried about herself. She's a bigger target than him! But he advised against it since he didn't want her to start getting worried and paranoid.

"It's okay. Thanks though, I appreciate it" he sent it before he could change his mind.

* * *

Orihime received his text of him thanking her for being worried. She was so embarrassed!

She decided there was no need to respond as she didn't want to bother him anymore for the day. She's already forcing him to come study tomorrow and she isn't too sure if he really even likes her.

 _We got off on such a bad note_ she thought. _Things are still kind of awkward between us. I dont want to bother him when he's at home_.

Orihime thought back on the day. 7 hours of studying should've felt a lot longer than it did but somehow the day flew by.

There was a sense of comfort Ichigo gave her when they were together. She didn't know why, but he felt safe.

*Ding* Her phone went off again as she was lost in her thoughts about the day.

She looked at her phone surprised to see another text from Ichigo.

"Thanks for asking if I got home okay though. No one's ever asked me that before. And thanks a lot for all your help today. I'm really sorry I'm so far behind I feel so bad you're stuck with me :("

Orihime smiled at the text.

"Aww no! I had a lot of fun today anyway so dont be sorry. I feel kind of bad for forcing you to come back tomorrow :x"

"Oh no thank you so much!"

"No problem :)" Orihime wasn't sure what to say, should she keep texting him? She kind of wants to keep talking to him but knows he has his boundaries.

"So what's up? Doing anything tonight?"

Orihime sat up, eyes getting slightly wide. _HE'S talking to ME?_ Orihime was surprised to see the big bad Ichigo Kurosaki talking to her like they're buddy buddy now!

"Nah nothing really, just gonna watch some TV. Maybe Tatsuki will come over tonight, but I doubt it. What about you? Going out with your friends?"

"Oh hell no, my brain is tired, I won't be going out anywhere!"

"Hahahha awww, it's not easy being 2nd in the school ;P"

"Yeah I can tell! Lol props!"

Orihime was not sitting cross legged on the couch, smiling while biting on her lower lip, staring at her phone.

* * *

Ichigo was sitting on his bed about to start playing some call of duty but didn't start a game immediately. He stared at his phone, wanting to text Orihime some more but being too afraid to do it.

Well, I should be nice and thank her for having me over. It's the least I can do as a polite guest.

 _Yeah right, since when did you ever give a shit about being a 'polite guest'_ his inner thoughts started to creep out. _You just wanna talk to her cause you think she's cute!_

Ichigo got embarrassed at his own thoughts and decided that he wouldn't text her again tonight, he didn't want her to think he was being a creep.

"Good night Ichigo, see you tomorrow :)" Ichigo smiled at her text and said "Night Orihime, see you" He responded and proceeded to start his game.

* * *

Ichigo woke up the following morning, again around 11:30am.

 _Hmmm... something is suspicious. He_ thought, _it's 11:30am and dad didn't come in here to attack me yet?_

Ichigo walks downstairs after having brushed his teeth only to find his sisters on the couch watching tv, no sign of their dad.

'Where's dad?' he asks

'Oh, he had a patient at the clinic this morning so he's been working.'

'Oh, does he need me to go in and help at all?' Ichigo asked.

Their family owned their own clinic and Ichigo would at times help his dad on weekends if he was needed. He knew he wouldn't have too much time to help out today but something is better than nothing right?

'I'm not sure' Yuzu said, 'call him and see?'

She had gotten Ichigo a plate ready for breakfast.

Ichigo began eating as he called his father.

'Hey Ichigo, what's up?' Isshin asked, 'everything okay?' Ichigo rarely called his father, so he was slightly alarmed when he saw the incoming call.

'Nothing really, heard you had a patient in the clinic. I have to go out again around 12:45pm, have some more studying to do with my classmate but I can come in and help if you need anything.'

'Oh no, thanks a lot but I think I'm good for today. It's not busy. Have fun studying though.'

Isshin knows Ichigo has been having a hard time in school. His hair made it hard for him to fit in, losing his mother and blaming himself also made things difficult. He doesn't want to disrupt Ichigo's school work, no matter what!.

'Alright, I'm gonna get ready then and head out. See you later.' and with that, Ichigo hung up.

Ichigo put on a pair of black skinny jeans, he wore a nice slim fit white t-shirt, a grey hoodie over it and a jean jacket with a pair of grey vans.

* * *

'Just left my house, I'll be there soon.' Ichigo texted Orihime letting her know he was on his way.

'Great! See you soon :D'

'Have you eaten anything?'

'No no yet, wanna order something when you get here? Or we can go grab something in the neighborhood'

'Hmmm... we'll see when I get there?'

'Sounds good to me! Be safe'

Ichigo caught himself smiling at this text. It felt nice to have someone say that to him when it's never been said before.

Ichigo knocked on her door, he heard some movement inside before she came to open the door.

* * *

Orihime heard a knock and instantly knew it was Ichigo. She went to open the door 'Hi Ichigo!' she said with a big smile.

Orihime instantly began to blush and became flustered when she saw him.

 _Ahhhh does he have to be this attractive?_ She wanted to, but couldn't stop looking at him, her face burning up.

'Are you okay? Do you have a fever? I would've got you some medicine or we could've rescheduled for today!' he said when he saw her expression.

 _Why am I like this?!_ Orihime couldn't control her blushing face

'Oh no no, trust me i'm fine, this just happens to me sometimes. Dont worry about it! Come in come in!' She tried to get him inside as soon as possible and change the subject. _How mortifying_ , she thought.

'How about I make us some coffee while you get the books out and ready, we study for a bit then we can grab something to eat?' she suggested.

'Ohh that sounds awesome actually' Ichigo smiled as he headed over to the couch.

Orihime was walking in front of him, heading to the kitchen. He couldn't help but notice how long and flowy her hair was. It went down her back and swayed as she walked. She was wearing an olive green, plain form fitting v-neck t-shirt. She was wearing a pair of leggings which really hugged her curves, making it difficult to not gaw at her, but Ichigo was no pervert so he did his best to not stare at her butt. (note, did his best ;) )

Orihime made coffee for the two of them, they sat down and studied for about an hour and a half until they heard a noise.

A noise as loud as a whale.

Ichigo looked up and stared at Orihime with wide eyes, watching her face turn 5 shades redder.

'OH MY GOD HOW EMBARRASSING!' she squealed as she buried her face in her hands.

 _God, just kill me now please._

Orihime, shocked, looked over at Ichigo who had started laughing. This was not a chuckle. This was a whole hearted laugh. A throw your head back, knee slapping, can't breathe kind of laugh. She had never heard him laugh before, only chuckle.

It was contagious. She couldn't help but laugh as well.

'Sorry to laugh, but that was so unexpected. Guess that's our cue to go grab some lunch?'

'Well... Yeah I would say so' she said while rubbing the back of her head out of embarrassment.

'Let me get my jacket, we can go and eat out' Orihime said as she was getting off the couch.

It wasn't until they put their jackets on and opened the door to head out that they realized it had started to rain... hard.

'Welp... wanna order something and watch something? We can study until the food gets here?' she suggested.

'Yeah that sounds good. What are you in the mood for?' Ichigo asked.

'Burgers?' she suggested

'Oh that sounds really good!'

'Yay! Do you know anywhere we can order from?'

'Yeah, I'll order now' he said as they both took a seat on the couch again.

Ichigo called and ordered, they were studying, waiting for their food to arrive.

When they heard the door, Orihime went into her room to grab some cash. By the time she was back out, Ichigo was closing the door with the food in his hand.

'Wait! Did you pay?!' she ran over frantically

'Yeah, I did. Why whats up?' Ichigo asked, as if he had no idea why she was upset.

'Oh no! Okay I'll give you money for my food then, how much was it?'

'Nun'

'Huh?'

'Nun-ya-business' he winked as he walked to the table.

 _Ohhh someone has a silly side huh?_ She smiled mischievously.

'Thank you.' she said with a small but sweet smile as she sat down closer to him, nearly touching. The distance going unnoticed by either of them as she turned on the tv. They found a show to watch while they ate and talked.

When they were done eating, Ichigo looked at Orihime to see if she was ready to study again. She looked back at him and sheepishly smiled saying, 'wanna let our stomachs relax a little? We can start studying again a little later?'

'Oh thank god' said Ichigo as he leaned back. 'It's a little hot in here'

'Oh you think so? Sorry, want me to turn the heat down?'

'Nah it's fine, I have a shirt on under the hoodie' he said. Ichigo sat up to take his hoodie off, as he was doing this, his t-shirt got caught in his hoodie, thus going up and revealing his torso.

Orihime couldn't help but stare, noticing his toned and defined muscles. He was able to see clear outlines of his obliques.

She snapped her head toward the tv, pretending to be watching it while she began to sweat at the sight of his body. When he tried to toss his hoodie over to his bag, he accidentally hit his can of soda which was about to fall off the table.

Orihime instinctively and very quickly reached over Ichigo and grabbed the soda before it fell over.

Now, this was a very innocent action taken by sweet little Orihime, but if anyone walked in to see, they might think otherwise.

Ichigo was still seated on the couch.

Orihime had her left foot on the ground, leg stretched out with her right knee on the couch. She was bent over Ichigo, her chest on his lap with her butt in the air as she's holding the can to keep it from spilling.

'Umm...'


End file.
